


Skater Chicks Who Do Skater Tricks

by CaptainLeBubbles



Series: The Hallmarks of a Family (Hallmarks AU) [12]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Accidental Bonding, F/F, First Dates, discussion of puberty, discussion of sexuality, educational discussions of sex and dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:21:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23313832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainLeBubbles/pseuds/CaptainLeBubbles
Summary: Yang is going on her first "date", which is exciting. Less exciting, her dad has to come along to, like, chaperone and drive or something.
Relationships: Reese Chloris/Yang Xiao Long, Roman Torchwick & Taiyang Xiao Long, Yang Xiao Long & Roman Torchwick, Yang Xiao Long & her family
Series: The Hallmarks of a Family (Hallmarks AU) [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1200967
Comments: 8
Kudos: 22





	Skater Chicks Who Do Skater Tricks

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guess what? I finished the last short last night. Well the last essential short anyway; I have some vague ideas of more microfics that I might go back and do at later points, but these will be posted in the moment and will not count toward buffer.
> 
> Anyway I promised y'all something cute after that soul crusher from last night so have some cute first date and bonding stuff.
> 
> Oh by the way I'm retconning my previous establishment of Reese as being in Ruby's class, as well as Arslan, though that part doesn't matter here.

-/-

Yang bounced back and forth from one foot to another while her family looked on— she’d wanted to do this in private, but the landline was in the living room and the best she could manage was walking to the end of the chord. But they didn’t have to actually  _ watch _ like it was some kind of spectator sport. She was just asking her crush out. That was all.

It was  _ no big deal _ or anything.

On the other end of the phone there was a click and a hello. She froze. “Um. Hi Mrs. Chloris. Is Reese there! Oh yeah it’s Yang Xiao Long we go to school together. I mean Reese and I go to school together. Not me and you, that’d be weird. Is Reese there?”

“I’ll go get her,” Mrs. Chloris said, amused, and a minute or two later Reese’s voice came over the phone instead. “Hey Yang.”

“Hi Reese! It’s Yang! You know, from school!”

“Yang, we’ve been in the same class since fourth grade. I know who you are.”

“Right! That’s true! Um.”

She fell silent, twisting the chord in her hands nervously while Ruby and Nora snickered on the love seat and Dad and Uncle Qrow exchanged amused looks she probably wasn’t supposed to notice.

A few beats of silence, and Reese said, “Uh, Yang? Did you want something or…?”

“You wanna go to the Slicery this Friday!”

“Uh, sure? Sounds fun. This a group thing or are we going solo?”

“Solo?” Yang squeaked, and turned away from her family, tangling in the chord as she dropped her voice to squeak, “I mean, like in a date way?”

Reese was silent. Yang thought some words that would get her scolded, but after a few seconds Reese said, “Oh, why didn’t you say so? Sure, that sounds fun.”

“Great!” Yang squeaked again. “Can’t wait!”

And turned to hang up without another word.

And then had to pick the phone back up and untangle herself from the chord before returning it once more. She spun back to her family, all nervousness replaced by swagger, and beamed.

“Guess who’s got a date this Friday?”

“You need to work on your game,” Ruby said. “That was terrible!”

“What do you know? You’ve never been on a date before!”

“I know I’d never say yes to someone who asked me like that!”

“Ruby,” Tai scolded, and then turned a smile on Yang. “You were fine. You just need to be less nervous. You’re awesome! You’re  _ Yang Xiao Long. _ What is there to be nervous about?”

“Uh, rejection from the coolest girl in my class?”

“Pyrrha?”

“What?”

“Pyrrha is the coolest girl in your class.”

“No she’s not, Reese is! Reese can do cool skateboard tricks, and Pyrrha can’t.”

“Hey, Pyrrha’s super cool!” Nora interjected, at the same time Ruby protested, “I bet she could if she wanted to! I bet if she wanted to Pyrrha could do the coolest skateboard tricks in the whole world!”

“Also, she’s not in my class, dummy.”

“Oh.”

“Hey, don’t call your sister a dummy,” Tai cut in, and was ignored.

“Anyway, if you like Pyrrha so much, why don’t  _ you _ date her?”

“Maybe I will!”

“Not happening,” Tai tried again.

The argument continued a bit longer, but was interrupted before it could escalate by the phone ringing. Tai reached over to answer it, ignored by the girls until he said, “Oh, hi, Mrs. Chloris.”

The girls froze, and Yang scurried closer to try to listen to the conversation. Unfortunately, Tai just held her away at arm’s length and ignored her efforts in favor of the conversation.

“That all sounds fine,” he eventually said. “And no, I don’t mind chaperoning. I was already planning to.” A pause, and he laughed. “I know, it’s hard to believe they’re at that age already! Sure, you too. See you Friday.”

He hung up, and turned to find all three girls staring at him expectantly. It was Yang who spoke.

“What was that all about?”

“That was Reese’s mom. She was checking in that there would be someone to chaperone you guys Friday night.”

“Why do we need a chaperone?”

“Because you’re twelve?”

“I’m nearly thirteen! I’m practically an adult!”

“You can’t even drive.”

Yang groaned. “But it’s so embarrassing having my dad come with me! Can’t Uncle Qrow chaperone instead?”

“Can’t, I got standing plans Friday,” Qrow said, not even looking up from his phone. Scrolling social media, by the looks of things, but Yang didn’t miss the slight shift in his smile when his phone buzzed a text alert, so he was probably texting Uncle James, too. Probably telling him all about Yang’s date drama.

She briefly considered asking if Uncle James could do it, and changed her mind. Dad was embarrassing, but Uncle James could be the no-fun police sometimes. She sighed, and flopped dramatically onto the sofa, burying her face into the cushion so they’d know just how miserable she was.

By the time she came up for air, Ruby and Nora were speculating loudly about how embarrassing Dad was going to be on her date.

“He’ll probably take lots of pictures,” Nora said, and Ruby nodded and added, “And he’ll make them  _ pose _ for them.”

Yang groaned again, loudly so hopefully someone would feel sorry for her. “Well if you have to be there, can’t you invite a friend or something? Then you and your friend can hang out while Reese and I have our date and it won’t be so much like my dad is being a third wheel.”

“Are you seriously suggesting a double-date with your dad?” Qrow asked, actually looking up this time. Yang shot up straight on the sofa.

“No! Absolutely not! Not a date! No! Way! Invite someone that it’s explicitly not a date! I am  _ not _ going on a double-date with my  _ dad!” _

“Love you too, sweetie,” Dad said, clearly trying to hold in laughter. “I’ll invite Roman, how’s that? That’s the most not-date it gets.”

Yang huffed and folded her arms. “All right, that’s fine I guess. But he better behave himself!”

-/-

The next two days dragged by at a crawl, and then before Yang quite knew what was happening it was Friday evening. She’d decided to wear her hair down for a change, because what was the point of long hair if you always just wore it up, and she got dressed super early so she could have time to play around with her make-up— Dad had decided she was allowed, since it was a special occasion, but she wasn’t very good at putting it on yet.

While she stared at her eyeliner pencil and tried to force it to give up its secrets, there was a knock at the door. Qrow passed by to answer it, and a second later Torchwick was in her periphery.

“You’re kinda early,” Qrow said. “Tai’s still in the shower and I’m walking out the door in a minute, but Yang’s here.”

Torchwick waved away his apologies and turned a sunny smile on Yang as Qrow disappeared back into his room. “Hello, goldilocks. Really flattered you invited me on your first date with you. Can’t imagine why you thought it was a good idea.”

“It wasn’t me, it was Dad. I told him to bring a friend so he wouldn’t have to third wheel just because he thinks I need a chaperone and you’re who he picked.”

“That’s fun.” He glanced at the eyeliner pencil in her hand. “Need some help with that?”

Yang was about to refuse, to insist she was fine, and then reconsidered. Torchwick’s eyeliner was always perfect (at least, on the eye not hidden behind his bangs) and she couldn’t even put it on without her eyes watering.

She shrugged. “Okay. I guess. If you want.”

“Don’t say I never did anything for you,” he said, gesturing for her to turn and tilt her head back so he had better access to her eyes. He cradled her face in one hand, steadying her head in place, and rested the other hand on his wrist. “Little tip,” he murmured. “If you use her cheek to steady your hands, that’ll help.”

“Oh. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because you’re learning, and don’t have anyone to teach you. Now hold still, your dad would murder me if I poked your eyes out.”

She complied, trying to keep as still as she could while he worked. His hands were surprisingly gentle, and in seemingly no time he was pulling away and declaring that eye done. He shook his wrist out and held up the mirror.

“What do you think?”

“Oh! That’s way better than I’ve been able to do.”

“Well that’s because I’ve got twenty years of practice on you. Second eye, hold still.”

They repeated the process as before, while Yang considered the implications of his words. As soon as he pronounced that side done, she frowned.

“You were wearing make up at my age?”

“That surprises you?”

“Well I mean… Dad doesn’t want me wearing make up except for special occasions, and uh…” She shrugged, suddenly embarrassed.

“He’s right, you know.”

“What?”

“The make up thing. You shouldn’t wear it when you’re young. Barring special occasions, of course.”

“Why not? It’s just make up.”

He chuckled. “Easy to say that. Make up is insidious. It gets into your head, you forget what your face looks like after awhile and start to think of it as a necessity. And you forget how pretty you are without it.” 

He poked around at the little collection of compacts and lipsticks around her- miniscule and cheap, the sort of thing you’d buy so your daughter can play with make up but not actually wear it out. A glance at her shirt for color, and he selected a compact.

“Want a little shadow?”

“Uh… sure. But if it’s dangerous to use it, why is it okay for special occasions?”

“Because then it’s just an accessory that you can take off. It’s all down to how you think about things.”

“Oh. I hadn’t thought of it like that.” She squirmed a little, trying to keep her head still while he shadowed her eyes. “But you wore make up at my age. Were you parents… okay with that?”

“Mmm, mom wasn’t crazy about it but she didn’t stop me.”

“But isn’t that…” She trailed off, not sure how to ask what she was thinking.

“Yes?”

“It’s just… I’ve always assumed your parents kicked you out for being gay. I wouldn’t have thought they’d let you wear make up if they were that hardcore homophobic.”

Torchwick snorted, and set the shadow brush down to let her inspect his handiwork. “Trust me, goldilocks, by the time my full list of transgressions was known, being gay was the least of my sins.”

“Oh.” She looked at herself in the mirror, and blinked a few times, pleased by what she saw. “I look really cute. Thanks.”

“Of course you do. You think I’d do anything less than my best?”

“That’s not what I  _ meant,” _ she huffed, and then looked up as Qrow reappeared.

“I’m heading out now, hon.”

“How do I look?” she asked hurriedly, batting her lined and shadowed eyes at him. He smiled.

“You look great, of course. Way better than your last experiment.”

“Mr. Torchwick did it for me.”

“Only because I’m not going to be seen in public with a kid with  _ subpar eyeliner. _ I have a reputation to protect.”

“Well, whatever your excuse, it looks great. I’ll see you around- have fun on your date, sweetie.” 

He mussed her hair playfully on his way by, spared a wave for Torchwick, and was gone. Yang turned back to Torchwick thoughtfully, and squirmed again when he caught her staring.

“Um, can I ask you something personal?”

“You can  _ ask.” _

“Well, I was just wondering, um. When did you know you were gay?”

He snorted. “That’s a loaded question.”

“I just mean, how did you know you didn’t like girls? I mean, how did you figure out that you like boys, and that you didn’t like girls? I mean…” She trailed off, tangled up in thoughts she was struggling to articulate.

“Hmm.” He rested his head on one hand and gave her a knowing smirk. “This isn’t really about me, is it?”

She shook her head, and then slumped. “I’m just confused. I know I like girls, but I don’t know if I like boys because I’m  _ supposed _ to like boys, or because I really like boys. And then I got to thinking about it and except for Kali, all of the women I’m closest to are lesbians. And she dates women all the time too. So what if I’ve subconsciously internalized that I’m supposed to like girls just because most of the adult female relationships I’m around are between women?” She sighed, and slumped harder. “I thought being surrounded by queer people was supposed to make it  _ easier _ to figure out your sexuality.”

“Nope. Just gives you a safe place to figure it out. And people you can talk to when it gets overwhelming.”

There was a pause. She stared at him expectantly, and when he said nothing more, “Well?”

He chuckled. “This girl you’re going out with. You’re happy to be going out with her?”

“Yeah. But, I mean, what if—“

“What if, what if? Who cares what if? The point of dating is that it’s supposed to make you happy. If you’re happy, that probably means you’re attracted to her. If you’re attracted to boys and you're happy, then you’re probably attracted to boys. If any of those things stop making you happy, figure out what it means then. Occam’s razor, babey. Don’t tear yourself apart making it more complicated than it actually is.”

“You really think it’s that simple?”

“Of course it’s not simple, it’s your identity. It’s just not supposed to be stressful. Especially when you’re only nearly thirteen. You’ve got all the time in the world to figure it out.”

“Oh.” She gave him a small, grateful smile. “...got any more dating advice?”

“Why are you asking  _ me _ about these things? You have _parents.”_

“I dunno. Just seems easier asking someone not that invested in me.”

“Heh. That’s me all right. About as uninvested as I can get while still being willing to be seen with you in public.” She continued to watch him, so he sighed and started ticking off on his fingers. “Dates are supposed to be fun; don’t worry about what’s traditional or the done thing if it doesn’t sound like something you’ll enjoy. Romance is in the little things. Communication is key to any relationship, even a relationship that isn’t meant to last past the first date. You’re allowed to cut a date short if you’re not having fun or if your date is sending up red flags. Learn what the red flags are, and keep your eyes open to them. Don’t fall in love with straight girls, no matter how nice she is to you. Sometimes you can do everything right and still not have fun. When you think you might be ready to have sex, you’re almost certainly wrong, and when you do it anyway, always use protection.”

Yang stared wide-eyed at the onslaught of information, but at the last one she frowned. “I’m not even thirteen. _Obviously_ I’m not ready for that kind of thing.”

“Yeah, well.” He shrugged. “You’ve had the Talk by this point, I assume.”

“Yeah, years ago. Mrs. Wukong took me to Eggs, Pursued By A Bear for lunch and we talked about everything I needed to know. It was fun, except for the, you know, period stuff. And childbirth stuff. And the sti stuff. Uh, basically girl puberty sucks in every way imaginable.”

Torchwick snickered, then waved that away. “My point is, if you’re old enough to know all of that, you’re old enough to start internalizing ideas about safe sex.”

“Uh, not to be a buzzkill, but what are you talking about with my daughter?”

They both turned to find Tai in the doorway, arms folded and a frown on his face. Torchwick’s face split into a grin; Yang watched him and frowned thoughtfully.

“Goldilocks here asked me for dating advice so I was making sure she knew to always use protection.”

“She’s twelve.”

“Nearly thirteen!”

“So she’s old enough to hear it. Or do you want your daughter pregnant at fifteen because you always assumed she was too young to know these things?”

“I… really don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”

“Then it’s moot.” He shrugged. “Whatever, I got carried away on my advice, I’m happy to drop the subject. Are we going or what?”

“Just a second, I need to put all this up,” Yang said, scooping her make up back into the shoebox she apparently kept it in. “Oh, Dad, Mr. Torchwick did my make up too! And I think I get what you were trying to say before. He told me that if I wear make up too much I’ll forget how pretty I am without it.”

And with that she hurried off. Tai watched her go and turned back to Roman. “That’s the same thing I said…”

“You’re her dad.” Roman shrugged and stood, looping his arm through Tai’s and subtly steering him to the door. “Dads are supposed to think their daughters are pretty no matter what. Means less coming from you.”

“I guess,” Tai pouted.

“Mad at me?”

Tai sighed. “No, I’m just… not dealing well. You wouldn’t get it, but it’s like… my babies are growing up. Yang is dating and wearing make up and, you know. You’re right, she’s old enough to hear these things, but she’s also. Well, she’s my baby.”

“Why do you think I wouldn’t get it?” And added, because Tai gave him an odd look, “I helped raise the twins, you know. Was there when they were born.”

“I guess,” Tai said, as Yang came back to join them. He pulled his arm free so he could lock up the house, and added, “You look really cute, sweetie. Roman did a good job with your make up.”

“Daaaad!” Yang groaned. “I’m not  _ cute! _ I’m nearly thirteen, thirteen year olds aren’t  _ cute!” _

And with a loud, pointed huff, she turned and stomped toward the van, pausing only long enough to cast an envious look at Torchwick’s bike parked in their driveway on her way by.

She made a decision to herself on that day.

One day she was going to own one of those.

And hers would be  _ way _ cooler.

-/-

**Author's Note:**

> I may at some point do a short from the actual date. We'll see what happens.
> 
> (Eggs, Pursued By A Bear. They serve eggs and fish based dishes, and their specialty dessert is a bearclaw pastry covered in honey and berries. You can thank my coworkers for this; I came up with the title and asked what they'd expect at a place like that and we spent a fun twenty minutes going back and forth on ideas.)


End file.
